Return of the Abysswalker
by Kien Kotei
Summary: Artorias. A man hailed as a hero of legendary proportions. Thought to have died stopping the Abyss. However thanks to the violation of time and space he has returned in a new and strange world. Now facing a new enemy he fights alongside warriors known only as "Claymore's". Watch as he fights to save these new allies from their creators. Watch the Return of the Abysswalker.
1. Chapter 1

Dark Souls x Claymore crossover

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story

Prologue

The wind blew silently through the forest as a lone figure made its way towards a dilapidated arena. The click clak of armor on stone soon followed as the figure wound its way through the halls of the remnants of the once powerful Kingdom of Oolacile. Brown rock that had at one point in time been marble was now cracked and hewn from the ravages of time, nature and the countless battles that had once taken place in this vast colosseum.

That silence was soon disturbed by the clik clak of armor, a sound not heard in centuries. A lone female knight entered the arena, her armor resplendent despite the wear and tear it had endured over countless battles. The fabric while faded still proudly presented it's light blue colors to the enemy and to the she entered the arena a lone Bloat-head was standing across from her, its head shaking from its silent cackling. Just as the creature of the abyss was about to attack however, a shrill inhuman cry rang out from the outside of the arena. The Bloat-head looked around as if in abject terror before running away towards the other end of the arena.

It never made it. In a blur of worn royal dark blue, a large figure impaled the creature on a greatsword of impressive size. Armor, once a silver that shone proudly in the sun, now marred by black blood, and rent by a titanic struggle. Dark royal blue fabric that was ripped, worn and covered in black blood to the point that it almost wasn't blue anymore. Before her stood the once proud and vigilant Artorias, one of Lord Gwyn's Four knights, and hailed throughout Lordran as the Abysswalker. The knight while still a hulking giant, was hunched over holding the greatsword in his right hand, the Bloat-head still impaled on it.

As the Chosen Undead stepped forward to challenge the now corrupted knight, he unleashed another inhumane howl before swinging his greatsword and sending the body of the impaled bloat-head towards her, which she easily dodged. However some remnant of Artorias was still fighting in the subconcious part of his mind.  
While he desperately tried to warn the newcomer none of his words would be heard, Manus would not have it, not while this interloper held his precious necklace.

"Whatever thou art, stay away!" he desperately cried in vain on the fringes of what little remained of his humanity. "Soon... I will be consumed... by them, by the Dark."  
he again tried to no avail. Crouching low Artorias then jumped and brought down his greatsword making the ground tremble. The knight had rolled to the side with great speed and agility despite the heavy armor she was wearing. Holding her crouched position she swung her Silver Knight's Sword and caught him across the torso. Artorias showed no physical reaction to the blow, which would have crippled most foes, possibly have cut them in half.

Artorias simply released another howl before raising his greatsword and bringing it down again in an overhand smash. Rolling to the side again she backed up putting some space between her and the corrupted knight. His response was to charge her swinging his greatsword in a low arcing circle. Most people would have dodged jumped back, instead she crouched low moved towards Artorias and raised her shield over her head. His sword swung over her shield and briefly connected with the shield sending sparks flying into the air. Twisting around till she was behind him she delivered three swift blows to his back. Realeasing another rage filled howl Artorias turned and thrust his sword forward with inhumane strength, he missed by a hair however as she jumped to the side.

"Rrrreuuuuuuggghhhhhhh!" Artorias cried in pain both physically and mentally, Manus was pouring more power into Artorias trying to completely take over his mind.  
Artorias (largely thanks to his iron will) held out and endured the pain of the Father of the Abyss's rage. Manus however deep beneath his former prison was furious, while Artorias was a powerful foe, against the master and creator of the dark flame his power was nothing. Yet here a lone warrior was besting one his most powerful corrupted warriors. He didn't consider the people of Oolacile to be that strong and gladly threw them in the warrior's way. What was infuriating to Manus was that he could sense his necklace with this undead.

"End her! End her now and bring me my necklace Artorias, I command thee!" the Father of the Abyss cried in rage, and disappointment. Manus' voice while powerful and deep held little power over the knight, for only one man could command him and that man had left for the Kiln of the First Flame ages ago. Artorias continued to resist with as much might as he could muster. "Thou art strong human, surely thine kind are more than Dark." "I beg of thee, the spread of the Abyss... must be stopped."

In the physical realm the female knight was reaching her limit and would need to end this soon. A shroud of darkness began to surround Artorias and throwing his broken arm forward releasing a black purplish sludge that crashed on the ground near her. Taking a few cautionary steps back she then noticed him crouched down. Jumping up and preforming a somersault and slamming his sword down where she had been. The sword dug deep into the cracked marble of the arena, and the knight barely had enought time to dodge the next two somersaulting blows.

However after the last blow she tripped over a stray piece of rubble. In actuality this saved her life as Artorias swung horizontally in the hopes of killing her. Flipping his sword so he was holding it with the blade facing downward Artorias sent the sword down with all his remaining might. At the same time, through sheer will and desperation to defeat this enemy, the chosen undead grabbed her sword in both hands and charged with her remaining strength. His greatsword ended embedded in the cracked marble, her sword impaled through his armor and his heart.

Artorias screamed in sheer agony as the darkness inside his body rushed out through the mortal wound. After the last of it finally left his body his weight began to overpower the victorious warrior. Moving out from under his collapsing body she saw the face of her unwilling opponent. His hair was black and matted in many places, most likely from fighting the forces of the abyss for so long. His face was young, almost as if the gods themselves had chiseled it from the finest marble.  
His eyes were a piercing sky blue that shone defiantly in the setting sun of Oolacile reflecting his legendary iron will.

"Thank you fellow warrior... for ending my pain." Artorias began (had there been any fair maidens (or fangirls) they would have promptly fainted from loss of blood)  
for his voice sounded as if it were carried by the wind. "I despise having to do so, but I must ask thee to complete" Artorias was briefly cut off as a fit of coughing overcame him, "my mission." he continued in a strained manner and clearly wincing from the pain of talking. "The...spread...of..the...abyss." At this point the warrior held up a single hand to silence him. Artorias could only stare as the warrior reached up and removed her helm. Had he any breathe left he was sure he would have been gaping in awe. Platinum blonde hair lined a face that felt as if it was created by angels and was made of the purest ivory.

Her eyes were pure silver and held a melancholic sadness in them. Artorias wasn't sure as to whether he was dead or dreaming (the pain reasurred him that he was very much alive if not slowly dying) because when the setting sun was directly behind her he could have sworn that he saw wings of the purest white from her back.  
"Do not worry Artorias." she said and her voice could very well have been confused for that of one made by an angel. "I will carry out your mission and slay the monster behind this darkness," reaching for her sword (which she had removed some time ago) she held it up in front of her face. "I Teresa of the Faint Smile hereby declare that I will finish this mission in your stead." Artorias smiled "Thank you...Lady...Teresa." he said. As she turned to leave she heard his last dying words. "Ah, Sif! There you are! All of you...forgive me...for I have availed you nothing." He solemnly said.

With that Teresa of the Faint Smile pressed on determined more than ever to end this nightmare.

Some time later Chasm of the Abyss

Teresa had fought her way through the labyrinth that was the Oolacile prison eventually arriving at Manus' former cell. Having smashed the wall she had arrived at the top of the chasm (which, she added, had been aptly named) in the distance she could easily see multiple red eyes staring disconcertingly at her position. "That must be Manus." she said to herself mentally. On her way down she was confronted with a new foe. These were similar to the humanities that she had been collecting and while they were quite weak the problem was that there were so many. To that end she had resorted to using her more powerful pyromancy spells to destroy larger groupings. Near the bottom of the abyss however she stopped in her tracks. A faint howling could be heard but only for those with the keenest of hearing. But this was no ordinary howl, this was the howl of a wolf.

Looking around she noted a particularly suspiscous pillar. Striking it immediately dissolved the illusion, and upon making her way forward she found an interesting sight. A small group of phantoms were trying to attack a fairly large grey wolf, this wolf was protected however by a large shield casting a protective aura around the wolf. She immediately went into action swiftly striking down all of the phantoms in the vicinity.

After the last one vanished after being slayed she turned to the wolf and then knelt beside it. Reaching out her hand, the wolf give a cautious sniff before she let her pet her and scratch behind her left ear. The wolf then gave a mournful howl before vanishing into the river of time and space. Teresa gave a small sigh, then steeled herself for the coming battle and set off with renewed vigor.


	2. Chapter 2: New Enemies, New Allies

Return of the Abysswalker

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story

Chapter 1: New Enemies, New Allies

P.O.V. Artorias

The scent of wet dirt filled Artorias' nose as he slowly got up and examined his new surroundings. Tree's far more massive than anything he had seen in Lordran or Oolacile towered above. As Artoria's took note of his surroundings another scent began to mix with the damp of the forest. The scent of death. Somewhere near his current area a town was being either ransacked or slaughtered, or both. Spotting (and grabbing) his sword in the nearby earth Artorias set off, following the unpleasant smell to its source. What he could never have possibly imagined was that this action would introduce him to a scourge that (in some ways) made fighting the creatures of the Abyss far more pleasant.

He soon reached a clearing where upon exiting he found a fairly large camp that would suit at least 15 people. However just from the stench alone it was clear what had happened to the people, either someone or something had killed them. He soon found one of the bodies of the victims, had he not seen what the Darkwraith's did with their victims, Artorias may very well have lost (what little remained of) his last meal. The body had been desecrated beyond recognition and on top of that he could make out teeth marks on the corpse as well.

"I pray that thou hast found rest with the gods thou worshiped." he offered in silent prayer for the souls of these victims. Whatever had done this must still have been close as the bodies were still fairly fresh. While the village was empty Artorias could feel the eyes of whatever did this watching him. As far as he was concerned he didn't like the feelings he was sensing from wherever it was watching. Artorias sorely wished to find who or whatever was responible for this massacre. In truth he was morally divided on that thought. Physically he was nowhere near his prime and while his inner knight was screaming for retribution, he was not a tactless brute like many thought he was.

Artorias soon sensed movement behind him but made no indication that he had noticed. He crouched as if he was getting closer to inspect the body, his sword touching the earth as a makeshift cane. Sure enough whoever was behind him began to move closer, he could hear its breathing and smell the scent of death on it. Just as he felt one of its arms close in he struck! With a mighty swing his sword went up and cleaved its arm from its shoulder. The creature howled in pain and dashed back out into the entrance of the camp.

P.O.V. Miria, Helen, Deneve.

Unfortunately for him three figures blocked his only route of escape. These figures wore tight fitting silver grey leotards with gleaming silver shoulderpads and boots. On their backs were the weapons from which their name was given, three claymores stood blocking his path. They all had platinum blonde hair and the characteristic silver eyes, their hair was all different lengths though. The one in the middle had long hair that stopped at her neck, it spiked away at the sides. She had a serious expression on her face. The one on the left had short hair and a serious expression practically stuck on her face. The last one was on the left and had jaw length hair and a relaxed carefree expression. "Well guess we found the yoma responsible for the disappearing camps Deneve." the one on the far left said eyeing the yoma with an indefferent look. "So it would seem Helen." Deneve replied from the far left. "Looks like the organization's information was wrong, this yoma's power is barely above that of an average one." she finished. "Huh?" Helen said confused from the far right, "Oh yeah, you're right." she said.

"What do you want to do Miria?" Deneve asked the one in the lead. Miria took a closer look at the yoma in question and spotted its severed arm. "Oh, it seems this one has also been injured." she stated earning a shocked look from Helen and a raised eyebrow from Deneve. "Whoa!" Helen exlcaimed upon finding his arm (or lack thereof). "Who gave you that injury?" Miria demanded of the yoma, who only laughed in response before saying, "And what guarantee do I have that you Claymore's won't kill me anyway?" he said his left arm hovering over the stump of his former right arm.

"You don't." was all Miria said. The yoma began to laugh, that crazy last moments kind of laugh. Soon however it died down as the sound armored footsteps began to reverberate through the clearing. Behind the yoma and a few feet to the left in front of a small cabin a man in silver armor stepped out into the clearing, his armor while still shining defiantly in the sun, was covered in black. The blue cloth that was wrapped around his neck was frayed at the edges and also had black splotches across it. The chainmail that hung from his back was broken in places and his armor was rent in places. His right hand held the largest Great Sword any of them had seen, it's blade shone in the sun despite the wear and tear that was plain for all to see.

The yoma started turning his head between the three claymore's and the mysterious warrior, his face clearly showed fear at having been trapped. Then the yoma turned and charged towards the mysterious warrior screaming with all the air in his lungs. The warrior then crouched down and the movement made his left arm plainly visible to the three claymore's. It was clearly broken, the odd angle at which it was hanging was evidence enough. What happened next shocked all three of them (even Deneve though she would never admit it).

At just the right moment the warrior spun and swung his greatsword cleaving the yoma's other arm off cleanly. Then taking a small step backward he lunged forward putting the sword clean through the yoma's lower torso. "Hahahahahaha! Nothing vital down there you bastard! Now, you die!" the yoma cried out in victory. "Then thou dost not consider thine head valuable?!"the warrior said. With that the warrior shoved the sword straight up and cleaved the yoma's upper torso and head in two. Being in close proximity to the yoma made the warrior end up getting drenched in its blood.

He then collapsed next to the very creature he had just slain.


	3. Chapter 3: The Mission

Return of the Abysswalker

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story Thanks to Sunbro Wills It, Rickrolled, The Jackinati 275, The One and Only Mudkip and my two unknown reviewers for, well what else, reading and reviewing. And yeah I thought about that last line in ch 2 and ran both 'thine' and 'thy' with the sentence in my head and thine flowed more easily (to me at least). I will try to better my sentences in the future. \0/ Praise The Sun! P.S. Sorry for the long update got alot going on right now so updates may be sporadic.  
Chapter 2: The mission

The clik clak of her armor reverberated throughout the hall as Galatea made her way to the main hall of the Organization's headquarters. All along the hall the torches that were hanging or were hammered into the wall did little to brighten the cave like tunnels of the Organization's complex, in fact if anything they helped make it seem more depressing and foreboding than it already was.

Galatea quickened her pace slightly as she drew closer to the enormous double doors of the main hall. As she approached they swung open to reveal the heads of the organization gathered in their respective seats. In the center of them, leaning forward with his eyes only half open, was Rimuto. Very few Claymore's had ever met or laid eyes upon the founder of the Organization since the day it was founded.

"You summoned me sir?" Galatea asked in a monotone voice. "Yes, I did." Rimuto replied in an equally monotonous voice. "I have an assignment that requires someone of your particular skill set." Normally Galatea would get her assignments from her handler Ermita, to be summoned and briefed personally by Rimuto was a bit of a shock, it also told her how important to the Organization this was. "There is a prison to the south of our complex that holds yoma that we successfully captured for future study." Galatea's eyes briefly shifted to the head scientist of the Organization, Dae the scarred researcher that made all the Claymore's both past and present generations.

"A possible new warrior was put there against my orders." the culprit behind that did not need to be named, Dae had obviously done it knowing that there would be no repurcussions for doing so. "Your objective is to find this warrior and if they are still alive to bring them back to the organization so that we may judge their abilities, if they are dead or have turned, well I'm sure you know the rest." She knew all to well, if they were dead then she would just simply report back and return to her regular assignments. If they turned yoma however then she would have to kill them and bring the body back for Dae to study, which is probably what he was hoping for in the first place. "Do you understand your assignment?" Rimuto finished.

"Perfectly sir." she responded. Turning to leave she briefly turned back as Rimuto added one last piece of information. "Before you leave there is one last detail on your mission, you will be joined by three more single digit claymores." he added. Outwardly Galatea maintained an emotionless facade, but inwardly she was brainstorming as to why the Oragnization would need to send more than one single digit claymore on a scouting mission.

With that Galatea left the main hall and made her way outside the main entrance of the Organization. Standing outside the entrance were three other claymore's gathered near the southern trail. As it turned out the other three were numbers 5, 6, and 9, Rafaela, Miria, and Jean. Wordlessly they all started off towards the south. Little did any of them expect that this encounter would radically change their lives.

Within a few hours the prison came into site and all four stopped taking in the building that stood before them. Old, dilapidated and battered by the elements this building did not look like it could hold much of anything let alone yoma. All four claymores became uneasy after spotting it, not for what they saw (or rather sensed), but because of what they didn't see. Despite their best efforts none of them could sense even the slightest presence of any yoma. Unease began to play at their nerves as they moved towards the supposed "Prison".

Neutral P.O.V.

In the depths of the prison a lone figure sat against the wall of the prison, the hood covering his face made him look sinister, to complete that image two piercing blue eyes stared into the almost black abyss of the prison. In the depths of his mind however a battle was taking place over control over this warrior's very being. "Well now your resistance is surely impressive. For a human that is." Inside Artoria's mind a creature similar to the one he had killed days earlier was attempting to take over his mind. What it did not count on was his famous iron will.

"I have faced a creature far more foul and terrible than thee, thine's attempt is naught more than an annoyance wrought on by a fly pretending to be a dragon." His comeback struck a nerve with the manifestation of the creature as it's face tightened with rage. "Then this fly will prove you wrong and kill you here and now!" the manifestation charged him, but Artorias simply dodged every single blow. However when his mindscape shook his instincts told him something was wrong. "Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that while we're in here your body is in a berserk state and will attack anything that moves." the smile plastered into it's face only made his instincts kick into overdrive.

Claymore's p.o.v.

When they walked into the prison they expected to find a fairly large number of yoma, instead they found the bodies of every yoma inside the prison brutally killed. Their bodies were strewn about some were even buried in the walls, others had been torn limb from limb. All in all the claymore's were utterly shocked. What happened next nearly drove them to their knees. A yoki aura filled with nothing but pure killing intent crashed down on them nearly driving them to their knees. Activating their own yoki power the claymores attempted to fight back, but as soon as it appeared it vanished. "What in the name of the twin godesses was that?!" Miria said in astonishment.  
"I have no idea" Galatea said "But I have a feeling its headed this way." she finished and sure enough the sound of armored foot steps soon entered the entrance.

Soon enough a large figure entered. Silver armor and royal blue cloth wrapped around his body. Miria immediately recognized it as the warrior from before. "Wait, what's he doing in here?" This caught Galatea's attention, "Miria you know this thing?" "I don't know his name but I have encountered him before, in fact he's the one who slew the yoma that I was assigned to slay." all the warrior's present were shocked at that statement. "What?! How could a human slay a yoma they don't have the strength to do that." Jean said. "I don't know but he dodged it easily and slew it with ease, whats more he wielded a sword at least twice his body length with ease." Galatea stared at the figure with a mix of awe and fear, how were they supposed to fight something like this?

She would never know at that moment the warrior collapsed to his knees. He started a moment later shaking his head as if waking from a bad dream "As I said naught more than a fly pretending to be a dragon." he stated to nobody in particular as he stood up. As he looked around he spotted the four claymores standing at the entrance swords drawn staring at him disconcertingly. "Who art thou?" he asked. "Look out!" one of them cried. Sensing movement behind him Artorias dove forward and turned using his left hand to slow himself.

He then stared at his left hand in shock for he was quite sure his left arm had been broken quite severely by Manus. He had no time to ponder as the creature moved forward and brought both of its massive arms down on him. He caught both of them and drove his foot into the creatures gut pushing it back several feet. He reached to his back with his right hand for his sword but only found empty space. "What!? Of all things to lose it had to be my sword!" he swore in his mind. "Catch!" he heard and looking behind him he saw a sword come flying towards him. Catching the sword he found it to be lighter than he expected, although considering all he ever used was his greatsword that was to be expected. He brought the sword up and sliced the creature's right arm clean off, then crouched while turning to catch it across the midsection. He gripped the sword tightly in his hand as he brought it down on it's head, slicing the vile being in half.

The claymore's present stood in abject awe of this warrior who had slain an enormous yoma like it was nothing.

Turning around the warrior walked towards them stopping in front of Miria and turning the sword, offered it back to her hilt first. She grabbed it and sheathed it. "Who are you?" Galatea asked "My name is Artorias and thou art?" he replied bowing slightly to all four of them. "I'm Galatea, this is Miria, Rafaela and Jean." she said gesturing to each claymore as she named them. Artorias lowered his hood revealing his face (for description see chapter 1), each claymore (though they would never admit it) had a slight rosy tint to their cheeks. "I, Artorias, do hereby swear to repay this debt shall the time come." All four claymore's stood stock still surprised at not only his gesture, but the fact that he had just slain an enormous yoma like it was nothing.

Artorias stood once more looking to the four before him. Galatea shook herself from her stupor, remembering why they were there. "Actually there is something that you can do." Galatea said a small smile forming. "What would thou have me do?" he replied. "In this world there are two kinds of beings, humans and yoma. Humans are self explanatory, yoma however are creatures of pure evil that feed off of human flesh." Artorias was briefly surprised but reflecting back on his experiences he wasn't that surprised after all his encounters with the creatures of the abyss. "I assume the Organization was thus created to combat these monstrosities?" he aked. She nodded in response, "Throughout the years they studied the yoma and a brealkthrough was eventually made, the first generation of our kind." "Thine kind?" he questioned. "We are a special breed of warrior who have had the flesh of a yoma implanted inside us, it is this that gives us the ability to fight the yoma on equal terms." Artorias had folded his arms with his right hand on his chin in a thinking manner.

"However, the power of each of us varies so we are given numbers to identify how strong we are to other warrior's." Artorias then asked a question "What numbers were thou given?" Galatea looked at him briefly before smiling ever so slightly "I shall let the others tell you their numbers, as for myself I am ranked third in the organization." Rafaela then stepped forward and said "I am fifth within the organization." Miria stepped forward "I am sixth within the organization and I also bear the name Phantom Miria." Artorias looked at her intrigued "Phantom? Why would one as fair as thou bear a name such as that?" He questioned catching Miria off guard. "Now is not the time for demonstrations we need to return to Rimuto as soon as possible." Galatea curtly replied. "Before we continue though Jean did not tell you her number." Artorias turned to the short haired warrior an eyebrow raised "I hold the rank of ninth within the organization." she answered. "Now then with that done we must head back." Galatea said and with that they made their way back to the organization's headquarters.


	4. Chapter 4: The Abysswalker

Return of the Abysswalker

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story Sorry for the delay guys just finished moving into a new house with my parents and the internet was down and is barely working as is. So without further ado here is some more of Artorias being a badass just for you. Those of you who can find the d. gray man reference get a cookie

Chapter 3: The Abysswalker

It had been several weeks since Galatea and the others had brought Artorias to the organization. While the other leaders wanted to put him through the whole training process (or worse). Rimuto was the only one who would take the time to even listen to her report. Much to her relief, Rimuto sided with her, allowing Artorias to be sent out into the field within the next few weeks. All that was left was to improve his vocabulary, nobody had spoken like he did in centuries and she needed to make sure that he was speaking in a way that everyone understood.

Artorias began slow but quickly began to pick up his pace as the days wore on. Soon enough he was speaking in an acceptable fashion, though on the odd occasion he would include one of his older words in a sentence. After that she helped him train in sensing the yoki of a yoma or another warrior, this he picked up relatively quickly and (though she would not say it out loud) his sensory abilities came close to hers in terms of range and strength. After that she was showing him a map of the continent, showing him all the towns and cities on it. This did not take particularly long as Artorias was a visual learner.

The rest of the time he spent cleaning and polishing his sword and armor, both of which were stained very badly. Soon enough the day came for Artorias to head out into the world as a warrior of the organization for the first time. Galatea was waiting at the entrance with Artorias who was being sent out on his first assignment. She didn't know who his assigned handler was but she prayed it wasn't anyone like Ermita. Soon enough Rubel walked up to them his ever present smile was, as always, present. "Ah, you must be Artorias, I'm Rubel, I will be giving your assignments from this point forward." he said his smile never leaving his face.

"I am, I was told you have a mission for me." Artorias replied. "Indeed, there is a town not too far from here that is plauged by a yoma, I'm sure I do not need to explain the rest." Rubel continued. Artorias nodded before asking "Which way is the village and how long will it take to get there?" Rubel's smile never wavered as he responded "The village or more accurately town is due west of the headquarters, and its only about a day or two away from here." Artorias nodded and then set off in the specified direction.

"He certainly is an interesting one, wouldn't you agree Galatea?" Rubel asked her never losing the slightly foreboding smile. "Yes, sir." Galatea replied in monotone.

Meanwhile in the town of Liero the village elder had called the men of the village together to discuss the recent series of yoma attacks. "Come on there must be something we can do to find this bastard!" one villager shouted. "There isn't you know the only ones who can find a yoma are those claymores." another told him. "Figures, this just shows you that it takes a monster to kill a monster." a third said. "Quiet! Please!" The village elder called out to no avail. "How do we know it was a yoma for, all we know it could have been one of us." came the statement. "What!? Are you saying that one of us murdered Quinn, his wife and ate them!?" the first one cried out in rage. "Maybe. I mean it's said that yoma can possess a person without them knowing about, and don't take this the wrong way but you live right next to him." and there was the accusation. "How the hell am I not supposed to take that the wrong way you bastard!?" cried the other. "Enough!" cried the town elder. "Throwing around wild accusations will get us nowhere but at each others throats." he continued "I have already asked for the organization to send a claymore here to slay the yoma." he finished. No one noticed the eyes of a man in the back widening in fear, how could they to them he was one of them. None could imagine the demon hiding inside of him.

That night a few of the yoma were gathered in the abandoned mill outside the town. "So it seems that the villagers have hired a claymore to come find us." one said licking their lips in anticipation. "I can't wait to sink my teeth into her flesh and hear her squeal!" another said. "No," came the leaders voice. "we can't jepoardize ourselves by prematurely attacking this claymore." he said, "We'll play this with a good deal of stealth and cunning." he continued. "I'll tail this claymore and see if we can find anything out about their stregths or weaknesses, for now the rest of you sit and..." anything else was cut off as an immense pressure soon brought them all to their knees. "What...is...this!?" one barely managed to wheeze out.

(Play The bartholemew dark souls trailer since this is short)

Earlier that day. As the men made there way away from the elder's building none noticed an armored figure enter it. The elder stood in shock at the man before him. All the tales of the organization's claymores were of women single-handedly slaying monsters with inhuman grace and strength. "Surely you must be joking, only women can become claymores." the elder gasped out. "I do not jest elder, I am a...unique member of the organization." The warrior replied. "Well in that case here is your..." The elder was stopped by the armored figure raising a hand. "I cannot accept payment myself, a man in black will come to collect it when I have completed my mission." he finished and then turned to walk out the door. Outside the street was quiet except for the noise from the tavern some ways down the street to his right. Heading left Artorias noted something he had not seen when he entered the elders house. Several crows were perched up above eyeing him with a hungry gaze.

As he walked away he sensed something coming up behind him. "DIE CLAYMORE!" rang out as a yoma ambushed him from above. Or rather as he drew his sword in a blinding whirl and eviscerated and decapitated the foul creature in one blow. The crows scattered in flight cawing their protest at the creature being slain. Night soon came as Artorias made his way outside town sensing several more presences outside town. Coming upon an abandoned mill he sensed at least five more yoma inside. Releasing his aura he jumped high and with the moon at his back came crashing down on one of them. The cries of the other creatures filled the night as Artorias made short work of them.

The next morning a figure in silver and blue walked away towards his next mission. The Abysswalker had returned.


	5. Chapter 5: The Meeting

Return of the Abysswalker

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story

Thank you for reviewing twice Tylermech and no he won't just be a male claymore, he will be confronting the organization eventually. His honor as a knight will demand it. Sorry about the delay guys I caught the flu a while back and then I had to pick up the pace in school, testing and all, sorry guys!  
Chapter 4: The Meeting

Several weeks had passed since his first mission, and yet his pride as a knight and protector of the people was slowly being driven into the ground by disenchantment.  
Despite all the deeds he did all he saw from the people he saved from the yoma was fear, and despite their best efforts (or beliefs) he heard their conversations. Despite his best efforts to ignore them the pain of being seen as no different from the yoma was there. However he also got a culture shock when he visited one of the major cities.  
In Lordran, everything was massive in size and structure. It had to be, most of the inhabitants were proto-humans like his Lord Gwyn and compatriots.

Most of the dwellings were still fairly large but not on the level of Anor Londo. This feeling was only fleeting though as time and Rubel sent other missions his way. And on this particular week Rubel decided that it was time he went on a hunt. "A hunt?" Artorias questioned. "Indeed, for a hunt we send a team of warriors after a yoma who has previously awakened or recently awoken. As far as the people are concerned they are yoma who've lived a very long time by the name 'Voracious Eaters'." Rubel replied. "Where would you find creatures such as this?" Artorias asked. "That's the hard part, we have to find them without our warriors getting caught." Rubel responded with mirth. "Thankfully our team found this one relatively quickly and without being discovered, so we are sending a team to kill it, with you included." he told him.

"Very well. Where am I heading?" Artorias responded without looking at Rubel. "Your actually very close to the town, keep heading south and you will reach it within hours." was the reply. "I look forward to the report Artorias." Rubel said and turned to walk away. "Oh by the way you can tell any future clients of yours that they won't need to pay for your services anymore." He shouted back. Artorias smiled breathing a sigh of relief, he was growing weary of having to ask the people for money, it made him feel like he was robbing them. Artorias had asked Rubel why the Organization needed so much money when they should be focusing on the yoma threat. Rubel simply said "Any answer I give you won't make you feel any better Artorias."

Artorias waited for morning before making his way to the meeting spot. The man that came out of an abandoned building spotted him and gestured him over. "You are Artorias, I presume." he asked looking at the knight inquisitively. "Aye, I am." was the reply. "Good you're the first to arrive hopefully the others will be along shortly, you can head inside." he then walked to the corner keeping his eyes sharp for the telltale silver and grey. Artorias walked into the dilapidated building and took a seat on one of the crates nearby, brushing the dust off one of them and set his sword against the wall. Time, for Artorias, had become barely noticeable as it passed. At some point he had closed his eyes to let the time go by, he re-opened them when the door opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very familiar face. "Well now I didn't expect to see you again Artorias." Miria said looking at the larger warrior sitting on a crate. "Nor did I my Lady Miria, but I must say it is good to see a friend." Miria immediately noted the exhaustion in his voice despite the smile under his hood. His eyes, that once shone brilliant blue, were now faded and distant.

"Are you alright Artorias?" she asked the knight her voice betraying her emotionless facade. Right now concern and the very serious urge to comfort him were flooding her heart. He smiled and replied "It is true I have seen better days, and I thank you for your concern Lady Miria, but I am fine." though he said this, his physical state betrayed his words. Miria would have continued but the cloaked figure of the watcher soon entered. "It doesn't look like the others will be here today, I'm heading to a nearby hotel I'll be back tomorrow." he said and then left.

Within two days, another group of warriors arrived at the meeting spot. The first had short hair stopping at her chin. The second one had very short hair in a buzzcut. Artorias toned out the next week not really feeling like socializing right now. He was woken by an elbow hitting his armor, while he had barely felt it he was sure whoever had hit him was in pain. Looking to his right he saw Miria rubbing her elbow and looking at his armor with a pained (and angry) expression. In the doorway was a another warrior with chin length hair and behind her was a young boy no older than 14 or 15.  
For Artorias that was an immediate explanation as to why she was so late.

Miria was the first to speak "It's about time you got here." she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Anor Londo, Ornstein and Smough's Boss Room

Teresa stood before the fog covered gateway leading to the guardians of Princess Gwynevere. After returning from Oolacile much of her old speed and strength had returned, now the undead and minor demons were nothing but mere playthings before her. But the major enemies like the Taurus Demon and the Fire Drake were still a threat to the Claymore. Shaking her head she quickly stepped up to the fog and put her hand before the gray nothingness like she had so many times before. What she saw on the other side was...unexpected. A very large, very fat man stood before her wielding a ridiculously large hammer, wearing the strangest armor she had ever seen. A crash sounded next to the giant and a cloud of dust was thrown into the air. When it cleared a golden warrior wielding a lance and donning a golden lion's helm stood next to it.

"Finally a new toy to play with!" the giant shrieked in delight, it's voice unexpectedly high. "Calm yourself Smough." the golden warrior said "We are here to defend Lady Gwynevere till our dying breath, not 'play' as you so elegantly say it." he continued. The difference between these two was clearly more than just their size. The giant, Smough, gave off an aura of bloodlust that put every yoma she had ever encountered to shame. It was also clear that he had no virtues of patience and honor like the knights Gough and Artorias had in their time. The golden one however clearly held himself with pride and honor. He also had the bearings of a leader with centuries of experience at his disposale. "I am Ornstein, and as you no doubt heard this is Executioner Smough, we are sworn to protect Lady Gwynevere with our lives if we must" he said with a tone befitting a soldier not a knight. "Please turn back, I would rather not raise my blade against you but I will if you stand against us." he finished by raising his lance slightly. Teresa said nothing nor did she move from her spot by the gateway.

"Enough talking let's kill her already!" Smough cried in anger and charged bringing his hammer down with all his strength. "Smough wait!" Ornstein cried to no avail. The hammer sent up a storm of dust and rubble from the ornate floor. "That was no fun, she died without a fight." Smough pouted "I wouldn't say that." an almost angelic voice said from the cloud of dust. As it cleared it revealed the blue garbed figure of Teresa standing on top of Smoughs' hammer a claymore in her right hand, a tower shield in her left, a playful smile on her face.


	6. Chapter 6: First Impressions

Return of the Abysswalker

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story Thank you pen and paper for reviewing and I never specified which arm he is using but since his left arm is broken he is using his right arm. I see a knight like Artorias training for a situation in which one of his arms is injured. Healing a broken arm takes time even for someone insanely powerful like him, instantaneously healing it can cause problems with the bone. Dauf says as much when claire goes to save jean. Sorry guys had to clamp down on school cause it was the end of the semester and had to rewatch some claymore episodes so that I could write the dialogue correctly.

Chapter 5: First Impressions

Underneath his armor Smough stared at the woman in disbelief, not wanting to see the woman standing on top of his hammer, smiling despite the current events.  
"Wha! You should...urgh?!" Smough was cut off by Teresa's armored knee planting itself on his armored face, she spun backwards and kicked him sending him reeling towards the ground. She landed before he did and charged underneath the fat giant towards Ornstein, who brought his lance up to block her sword. The blow however sent him backwards from her strength. Ornstein then used the backward momentum to launch himself at the his opponent.

third person P.O.V.

Five minutes and relations between the present claymores were already tense. Between Helen's incesant teasing of the new arrival, and said arrivals quick attempt at retribution and Deneve's indifferent attitude, Artorias was almost certainly wishing he had some darkwraith's to slay right now. Clare's sword was drawn in an attempt to attack Helen for her jab at the young boys relationship with newest arrival, whatever it might be. But while Clare was fast, Artorias was much faster easily stopping her sword with his right arm. The sword just stood there unmoving against his armor, Clare staring at it in awe and shock. Helen was staring with wide eyes, switching between the sword and his hooded face. Her hand was also on her sword ready to draw it at a moments notice.

"How in the hell is your armor not in pieces?!" Helen shouted at him. However before he could answer Miria said "Helen and Clare put them away now, Deneve don't even think about it." she quickly added giving the third claymore a stern look. "We can't afford to be at each others throats, not with a yoma only a few leagues from this city." she concluded and with that Clare and Helen put their swords away and Artorias resumed his leaning on the wall. Clare stood by the young boy, un-moving, whereas the lad had been looking at the other warriors with much curiosity. When he laid eyes on Artorias however his eyes seemed glued to him wide with awe.

"I'm sure the rest of us are a little on edge because we had to wait for an entire week for you to get here." Miria said calmly her eyes never wavering from the girl.

"No matter, for now we need to get the mission started, the voracious eater we will be hunting is on Mt. Pablo just south of here we'll head out in the morning, for right now I want everyone to introduce themselves and tell us your rank, it would also be helpful to know if you have had any previous experience in hunting a voracious eater before." Miria declared with the authority of a well seasoned officer.

"I am known as Miria, I will be your commanding officer for the duration of this mission, I hold a ranking of 6th within the Organization and this will be my 7th hunt." she began flawlessly.

The next to speak was the one she had called Helen. "My name is Helen, my ranking is 22 and I have no experience with these creatures." she said in an almost monotone one sitting across from her followed suit.

"My name is Deneve, my ranking is 15 and I have been on two other hunts before." she replied her tone even and unchanging. Artorias expected the new arrival to go next, but from the way the other three were looking at him, they wanted him to go next. Sighing he answered their silent stares.

"I am Artorias, I hold the 12th rank within the organization, I have no previous experience with these voracious eaters." he replied quickly and expertly. "Only 12th?" Miria looked at him with genuine curiosity.

"Another time." he said in reply not wanting to explain himself. Turning to the last one he listened intently, he had been secretly scaling each of their power levels, and while Miria, Helen and Deneve were powerful in their own right, something about Clare felt off. Her power felt like her own and someone else's at the same time. At that point she began to speak.

"My name's Clare, I have never encountered a voracious eater before, I am ranked 47th within the Organization." she said in monotone. "So she's the lowest?" he questioned in his mind. "That's not what her power feels like, it feels like she could be in 14th at the least." he contemplated. His concentration was broken by Helen's laughter.

"Oh my god Deneve! Did you hear what she said, she's only a 47, what were they thinking sending a rookie along!" Helen shouted, a sardonic laugh following soon after. Artorias noted movement from her side, no doubt the boy would defend her but he decided to intervene on his behalf. Putting his right hand on the boys shoulder he stopped him from speaking.

"Enough Helen, her ranking is not an issue at present, right now we have much more pressing concerns." he said giving Helen a small glare from under his cowl. Helen shrank back slightly deflated as well, the young boy looked at him gratefully before returning to Clare's side.

Brief Time Skip

Artorias looked up at the sky as he exited the dingy meeting spot and sighed. That had been far more irritating than he had expected, honestly Helen was like a child, indignant, loud, and clearly did not like being put in her place, Deneve was quiet and reserved so he really couldn't place her in a category, but she evidently did not like weak allies or enemies. Miria was the only one (aside from him) with any common sense, at least in his opinion.

Clare was quick to attack when insulted and, judging from the emotionless look on her face, had been through one or more very traumatizing events in her lifetime. What interested him about her however was how she had taken the boy under her wing. Most claymores would have ditched him at the next town and left, but she hadn't. "Excuse us." A voice from behind him caught his attention. Turning around he found Clare and her young charge standing behind him. "Raki would like to talk to you." Clare said in her same monotone voice.

Looking down at the boy Artorias gave a small smile and said "Of course, I would like to have a word with him as well."

The Next Morning

Rain poured heavily as Artorias and Clare walked to the town entrance. "Well, well what a surprise you kept us waiting again." Helen said sardonically. Miria simply said "Let's move."

Less than an hour on their way to the mountain and Helen was already trying to incite Clare's anger again. "You've been awfully quiet today Clare, what's the matter are you having trouble functioning without your boy to keep you warm?" her remark had the intended effect, Clare moved to make another attack on Helen but was stopped by Artorias again. He had chosen to stay with these three for that specific reason, knowing full well that Helen would not let her 47 rank go un-insulted.

"Don't bother, you'd only encourage her, then again I' m sure you'd encourage her even by ignoring her, but you'd be wasting your energy at small remarks." Artorias said holding her arm from her sword. "And Helen, you would better spend your energy preparing for the oncoming battle not rousting your allies with flippant remarks." he finished and with that continued on.

Miria gave him a look that said "We need to have a talk and I won't let you squirm out of this one." as he walked by. Artorias let out another sigh as he walked past. He didn't know how much time had passed before they came to a cave.

"We'll set up our camp here for tonight." Miria said as she stuck her claymore in the ground, we should be well within range of our target by tomorrow." she finished. At that the others began removing their armor, Helen stretched and said "Anyone else dying for some dinner I guess I'll go try to find something to eat." she said "It's amazing" Deneve replied "I don't think I know anyone who eats as much as you do." "Hey when you have as much yoki as I do you gotta keep eating" she said "Want anything?" she asked her fellow. "No I'm not hungry" was the reply "I'm going to rest for a while." Deneve finished. "Well suit yourself then." Helen said walking away.

Artorias was leaning near the entrance when he saw Miria pick up her sword and Clare's, tossing the latter towards its owner. "I want to see you outside, it'll only take a minute." she said monotonously before turning and exiting the cave, Clare soon followed. The rain only seemed to intensify after they exited, blocking out their words to him. Soon enough though the two began to attack each other furiously, parrying, attacking and trading blows with a fair amount of speed.

To the untrained (probably even a well trained one) eye, Miria was clearly the better swordswoman, her technique exquisite, graceful, refined, whereas Clare's style seemed sloppy, unrefined, and undisciplined. However to his enhanced senses he could tell what she was trying to do. What her physical skills lacked she made up for with excellent sensory capabilities.

Deneve had joined him at the edge of the cave watching the spar with little interest. Helen soon returned with a large gathering of apples. "They're really going at it aren't they?" she said with mirth as she dug into her apple with uninhibited gusto. After only a few seconds of watching she soon made another sardonic comment. "Wow she's really amazing isn't she." Deneve answered with practiced sarcasm.

"Your right I can't believe how amazing she is, how amazingly bad." Ignoring their remarks Artorias refocused on the match, which soon ended in Miria's favor as she sent Clare's claymore flying. After speaking to her she returned to the cave. Disappointment was etched into Miria's eyes as she walked past them.

"So what are we going to do now Miria? It looks like she's not going to be of much help to us tomorrow, in fact it would take a miracle for her to survive the first encounter." Helen prompted her once again in preventing Clare from continuing.

"It's glaringly obvious we're going too be doing all of the fighting tomorrow you now that right? Do you really want take a chance on such an important mission?" Deneve chimed in.

"I thought I made myself clear on this subject, our superiors made the call and we are going to follow orders." Miria said with finality.

"Talk about excess baggage, what a pain in the ass." Helen said with indignation. A splash brought their attention back to Clare. She had collapsed into the water soaked ground face first. "Oh well I've seen enough even if she were to die of exposure to night it wouldn't make a difference to the job." she said as she and Deneve walked away.

Artorias stood there right hand clenched in anger, which soon lashed out at the wall. The crash reverberated through the cave startling the others and leaving a spiderweb of cracks in the rock. "Whats his problem?" Helen asked as he walked out the cave entrance towards Clare. Picking up her sword he placed it on his back before picking up the unconscious warrior and walking back to the cave.


	7. Chapter 7: Hunters and Hunted

Return of the Abysswalker

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story Sorry for the delay but having problems with my school on top of that my laptop decided to up and erase most of the new chapter, thank you for your patience here is chapter 6!

Chapter 6: Hunters and Hunted

Artorias leaned on the cave wall as he watched Clare rest after her sparring match with Miria. The young warrior almost looked as if she was dead, had it not been for the occasional rise and fall of her chest. His mind soon wandered to her abilities and combat skills trying to figure out how it would fit in with the others. Her fighting style reflected her abilities, it was crude, but designed to allow her to evade a more powerful opponents lethal blows. This would give her an opportunity to strike at their flanks or deliver the killing blow. Such a style was effective, however with her sword skills severely lacking she would also present openings in her defense.

Any further contemplation was prevented when Miria walked directly in front of him and gave him the same pointed glare she had given him earlier that day. Artorias had never really taken the time to observe her until now, thus he had never really noticed how...small, she really looked (at least to him), and without her armor she seemed even smaller still. Miria briefly closed her eyes as if deciding which topic she really wanted to discuss with him first. Opening them again she briefly turned to look at Clare and then turned back to the man in front of her.

"I take it you sensed something about her as well?" Miria asked. Artorias was taken aback, he had expected a question but not one about Clare. His silence clearly displeased her, she soon gave him a glare that would have rivaled one of Ciaran's (when she was wearing her mask at least, when her mask was off, Lord Gwyn help any man who ended up on her bad side). Artorias nodded as he leaned back against the cave wall until he felt something push into his side a little. Looking behind him, he realized he had forgotten her sword was still on his back. Removing the weapon he stabbed it into the ground next to its sleeping owner.

"Aye, I did indeed" he said, "her number does not befit her level of yoki at all." he continued as he leaned back against the wall. "The potency of her yoki should have earned her the rank of at least 20." Miria raised an eyebrow at that statement, confusion etched into her face. The last time she analyzed Clare's yoki she thought she was looking at the most powerful warrior she had ever seen. "Are you sure about that?" she asked, looking Artorias directly in the eyes.

"Yes, I am." He said "While her aura is indeed potent, her sword skills are severely lacking." he continued as he brought his left hand to his chin. In comparison to Miria or Galatea whose sword styles were honed to complement their particular set of abilities, Clare's was more like an experiment including a lot of trial and error.

Miria couldn't really find fault in his argument, her spar with Clare had left her with a foul taste in her mouth. She sighed as she knew this was a subject that not get her anything important. So it was time to touch the subject that had been bugging her since their meeting. "Why is your rank only 14th?" she said crossing her arms. Artorias looked at her with mild surprise, a small smile touched his face.

(Time skip to the next morning)

The five of them were walking along a cliff-edge overlooking a river, a large number of arches dotted the canyon. The peace was largely unbroken, no snide remarks from Helen or jabs from Deneve. Miria was in the lead, Clare behind her, Artorias behind Clare with Helen and Deneve trailing behind him. Hours seemed to go by as they walked along the trail, the roar of the stream from the canyon floor could be heard to a slight degree. Time seemed to pass as Artorias scanned for any sign of yoki, or for that matter the creatures murderous intent.

As the sun began to set on the horizon they encountered an unexpected traveler. Traveling the same road they were was a human, and by the looks of it he was looking for them. "HEEEY!" he shouted as walked towards them. "Over here ladies, how ya doing ladies, we've been waiting for you for you claymores for quite some time." he continued drawing closer. "Who the hell is that guy?" Helen asked as the others looked on. Artorias eyes' narrowed watching the man closely, no guide was ever mentioned by their contact and Miria would have made certain they were aware if they were given one. On top of that he greeted them without the slightets bit of malice or fear.

"I'm from the town of Lido, we're the ones who called you all to come out here." the man contiued now less then two feet away from them. "I tell ya it's really great to see that you all made the journey out here so quickly." he continued "If you claymores want to follow me, I can show you which direction you need to go." he finished. Within a few vital seconds Artorias reached forward with his right arm and pushed Miria back, with his left he drew his sword in the blink of an eye and struck the man.

"Noooooo!" Helen shouted, Deneve and Clare could only stare in shock at the man. As his sword collided with the earth it sheared of part of the cliff sending it tumbling down into the canyon. "What hell are you doing?!" Helen shouted at him "You just killed a human!". The blue clad warrior turned and looked at them, they all froze as they saw under his hood. Vibrant silver-blue eyes shone underneath betraying not even the slightest sense of emotion.

"Nay" he said "that was no human, open your senses, the creature we have been sent to slay is far worse than a simple 'voracious eater'." he said as he turned around. Looking up the cliff face they all were visibly shaken by the sight upon the rock face. "What we have been sent to slay is...an Awakened Being."


	8. Author's Note

Author's Note: Return of the Abysswalker

To all my readers I apologize for taking so long on updating Return of the Abysswalker. Some stuff has come up I.R.L. so i've been out of touch some of my stories lately. That and a new project has come up that is going to take a majority of my time. Again I apologize I will try to get this story updated but it will be on temporary hiatus.

Thank you for sticking with me this long and I hope you continue to read my stories. 


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